Here are the remaining coloring pages for the horses who have already been featured on social media: Ali, Bear, and Princess ..read more

WFAE 90.7 is a local NPR radio station in Charlotte, North Carolina, doing a series on Mental Health in July 2022. Tia Tharp, Executive Director of Bright Side Youth Ranch, was invited to share about equine therapy for the focus on alternative forms of therapy for mental health ..read more

Here is a coloring page of our beautiful Brasilena, who we affectionately call Brass ..read more

I’ve spent over 30 years around and with horses. Sometimes that has been in a professional environment. Sometimes that has been in a more backyard experience. Many times, horses have been a way to compete and perform or to teach and train. More recently, though, horses have become partners in ministry. I’ve met, worked with, and loved many a horse in that journey. Some taught me patience and to ask better questions. Some made me a better rider and taught me to jump higher. Some helped me develop responsibility and the value of hard work. Some have helped me develop nerves of steel and face my ..read more

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Schools closing, staple items missing from the grocery store, schedules upended, plans canceled, trips postponed, group restrictions, church online, family working at home, and information changing rapidly makes this all feel like we’re living in a movie. And it’s easy to get pulled into thinking this is a passing scene in a story rather than a new normal for the long haul. I tend to be a shover of feelings - meaning I don’t deal with all my emotions in full right away. (Is shover even a word? Probably not, but we’ll go with it anyway). I try to focus on the here and now, and maybe eventually ..read more

Recently, Brené Brown’s books Daring Greatly and Dare to Lead have been challenging the way we view our interactions with others. And vulnerability is at the center of the introspection. We need to feel a measure of trust in order to take the leap to be vulnerable, yet we also need to be vulnerable in order to build trust. But which comes first? This past week, one of our mentors sat down with a 17 year old guy who is going through some difficult life challenges. One part of the curriculum they were working on is called the Emotion Color Wheel. It’s a good way to break the ice or check in with ..read more

How cute is this face?? We think Ali is adorable and are excited to share how she came to Bright Side. This story does in fact start with a Once Upon a Time because we need to go back a few years to when Devin and I were living in Northern Virginia, just south of Washington D.C. Alright, so maybe it was more than a few years ago, because it was a time before kids (so that definitely feels like a land far away).   Devin held his first full-time ministry position as a youth pastor at Methodist Church in Stafford, and I was a veterinary assistant at an equine clinic. While there, we met a s ..read more

There are moments when I just have to sit down and process all that is happening in me and at the Ranch. There are so many thoughts, so many emotions swirling through my heart and mind that I have to carve out time to look at what it is that I’m truly experiencing and feeling. I started off the year at a high because, together with our amazing Champions, we raised $40,000 in 8 weeks to build a barn for Bright Side. It was a season of connecting with dear ones, having meaningful conversations, praying over our Champions, and thanking and praising God for all He was accomplishing. I can barely ..read more